I received a novel back from my editor yesterday and I haven't been able to take my eyes off of her work. Out of 99000 words, she cut 17000. LOL! I'm accepting about 95% of her edits, which amazes me because I KNEW before I sent her the novel that it was already perfect. :-)

I'd had multiple beta readers gush over the novel. I'd worked and reworked it for many months. I'd cut and cut until I knew it was lean. And then I gave it to someone talented and she made magic happen in the chapters.

"It's all about streamlining and word efficiency," she said. I "knew" that already. But I was blind to what she was able to see. So, what it's also "all about" is having a talented editor work through your baby to give it some oomph!

People often ask me for advice around writing. As much as you love the words you write, as much as you've had folks give you their opinions, as convinced as you are about the readiness of your novel to go to print, you'll be cheating yourself and your novel if you don't get a professional edit.